Russia is afraid to use modern Su-57s in the sky over Ukraine, — British intelligence
The Kremlin, according to the agency, is trying to avoid reputational damage and fears that the destruction of the Su-57 will lead to the leakage of modern technology.
Russia is likely to use the latest Su-57 fighter jets to launch strikes against Ukraine, but is conducting attacks exclusively from its territory for fear of losing modern aircraft. The military intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain informs about this in its report dated January 9.
The agency anticipates that the latest Su-57 fighters will be involved in a full-scale aggression against Ukraine from at least June 2022.
Supersonic aircraft using stealth technologies and high-tech avionics flew exclusively over the territory of Russia, during which they launched long-range air-to-ground or air-to-air missiles. Military intelligence explains this strategy as Russia’s fear of losing the newest Su-57 fighters in the battles against Ukraine.
‘In the latest pictures, five Su-57s are parked at the Akhtubin Air Base, where the 929th Flight Test Center is located. Since this is the only known Su-57 base, these aircraft were probably involved in operations against Ukraine. Russia, rather above all, the task is to avoid reputational damage, deterioration of export prospects and compromise of secret technologies that may arise as a result of the loss of the Su-57 fighter in the sky over Ukraine,’ says the military intelligence report.
It should be noted that at the end of December, information appeared in rosZMI about the transfer of a batch of new Su-57 fighters to the Russian army.
In December 2021, the board of the military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation announced the arming of modern Su-57 fighters with hypersonic weapons. By the end of 2028, the Kremlin expected to make 78 units of aircraft, to attract which they wanted to create three new aviation regiments.
